Who talks how to their kids about TV: A clarification of demographic correlates of parental mediation patterns

A random telephone survey (N = 255) of Washington state parents of children between the ages of 2 and 17 assesses parents’ reported patterns of interaction with their children regarding television, along with parental viewing habits and perceptions of television content. Demographic differences in mediation and coviewing patterns, as well as parental attitudes toward television, are explored, and explanations for these differences are considered. It is concluded that education is a weak predictor of mediation levels, single parents do not differ from dual parents in attitudes about television, and that the negative relationship of income to positive mediation and use of television as a babysitter is related more to overall viewing patterns and environmental constraints, rather than to attitudinal differences. It is suggested that demographics hold little value jar explaining why and how parents hold particular attitudes or engage in particular behaviors relevant to television and parenting.     

International University Education: An Australian Perspective

This paper attempts to explore the effectiveness of UK universities' websites. The area of branding in higher education has received increasing academic investigation, but little work has researched how universities demonstrate their brand promises through their websites. The quest to differentiate through branding can be challenging in the university context, however. It is argued that those institutions that have a strong distinctive image will be in a better position to face a changing future. Employing a multistage methodology, the web pages of 20 UK universities were investigated by using a combination of content and multivariable analysis. Results indicated ‘traditional values’ such as teaching and research were often well communicated in terms of online brand but ‘emotional values’ like social responsibility and the universities' environments were less consistently communicated, despite their increased topicality. It is therefore suggested that emotional values may offer a basis for possible future online differentiation.     

Metaphorical understandings and scientific ideas

This study looks at the ideas which children have of the particulate model of matter, at the time they start formal science in school. Pupils aged about eleven in three European countries‐‐Greece, Portugal and the UK‐‐were studied using word association tests. In the UK and Portugal the children had received no teaching of the particulate model; in Greece the pupils had received one year of introductory science, containing some teaching of the particulate model. Key words associated with the particulate model were investigated as free associations. In Portugal and the UK there was little or no evidence of particulate ideas in the pupils’ responses. In the Greek data particulate ideas were more in evidence. There were other clear differences in the data from the three countries. Educational and research implications of the findings are discussed.     

Diagnosing Portuguese Students' Misconceptions about the Mineral Concept

Educational researchers and teachers are well aware that misconceptions—erroneous ideas that differ from the scientifically accepted ones—are very common amongst students. Daily experiences, creative and perceptive thinking and science textbooks give rise to students' misconceptions which lead them to draw erroneous conclusions that become strongly attached to their views and somehow affect subsequent learning. The main scope of this study was to understand what students consider a mineral to be and why. Therefore, the goals were (1) to identify eleventh-grade students' misconceptions about the mineral concept; (2) to understand which variables (gender, parents' education level and attitude towards science) influenced students' conceptions; and (3) to create teaching tools for the prevention of misconceptions. In order to achieve these goals, a diagnostic instrument (DI), constituted of a two-tier diagnostic test and a Science Attitude Questionnaire, was developed to be used with a sample of 89 twelfth-grade students from five schools located in central Portugal. As far as we know, this is the first DI developed for the analysis of misconceptions about the mineral concept. Data analysis allows us to conclude that students had serious difficulties in understanding the mineral concept, having easily formed misconceptions. The variables gender and parents' education level influence certain students' conceptions. This study provides a valuable basis for reflection on teaching and learning strategies, especially on this particular theme.     

Planning a competence-based curriculum: the case of four secondary schools in England

Despite the belief that schools tend to be resistant to change, it is possible to find secondary schools in the UK which are investing in the design of an innovative curriculum for their Year 7 (11-year-old students). This article focuses on four of these schools and discusses some of the challenges they face in planning and implementing their competence-based curricula (CBC). Such curricula tend to be based on the rationale that they better prepare all students for the constant changes of human knowledge and understanding. They develop transferable skills rather than subject-specific content, which are considered necessary requirements for learners as future productive members of society in the twenty-first century. Advocates of CBC argue that such curricula are more inclusive and emancipatory than traditional curricula, although this view is contested. Employing Bernstein's concepts of framing and classification of the curriculum, this article describes the challenges and constraints encountered by four schools which have endeavoured to develop a competence-based curriculum.     

Las capacidades gramaticales en el desarrollo

Resumen

Mediante tareas de clasificación de segmentos-palabra, se investiga la evolución infantil en la reflexión sobre el propio idioma (capacidad gramatical). Los datos demuestran que esta evolución pasa por largos períodos—entre ocho y once años—de estrategias semántico-pragmáticas y, por tanto, inmaduras gramaticalmente.     

Las posibilidades de un modelo teórico para la enseñanza de la comprensión lectora

Resumen

La autora aborda la problemática de la enseñanza de la comprensión lectora desde la perspectiva del modelo interactivo. Tras explicitar las características de este módelo y los avances que supone respecto de formalizaciones anteriores—bottom up y top down—, el artículo se centra en las indicaciones que de él se desprenden para la planificación de actividades de enseñanza/aprendizaje cuyo objeto es la comprensión de textos. Se insiste particularmente en la imposibilidad de aplicar mecánicamente dichos principios, y en la función primordial del maestro para promover en los alumnos estrategias adecuadas de comprensión lectora.     

Modificación de los hábitos de estudio a través de técnicas de autorregulación: estudio de un caso

Resumen

El propósito de este estudio fue diseñar un modelo válido para la adquisición de unos adecuados hábitos de estudio, basado en una combinación de estrategias de autorregulación y técnicas de estudio. Se procedió mediante un diseño exploratorio de línea de base múltiple, con un único sujeto que incluía: a) fase de pretest, b) primera fase de intervención, en la que se introdujeron las estrategias de autorregulación, c) segunda fase de intervención o de introducción de las técnicas de estudio, y d) fase de postest. El resultado fue un cambio experimental y terapéuticamente significativo en los hábitos de estudio y en las conductas exponentes de: tiempo de estudio, desatención, y velocidad y comprensión lectoras, las calificaciones experimentaron un ascenso progresivo. Estos cambios se mantuvieron y consolidaron en el seguimiento, las estrategias de autorregulación se han mostrado útiles para aumentar la probabilidad de ocurrencia de la conducta deseada y disminuir la de la no deseada.     

Sex education in Spain: the relevance of teachers’ training and attitudes / Educación sexual en España: importancia de la formación y las actitudes del profesorado

Abstract

This research has two main aims: a) the study of Spanish teachers’ training and attitudes towards sex education, as well as the delivery of this subject in classrooms, while also exploring the existence of differences according to personal and professional characteristics; and b) to examine the association between teachers’ training and attitudes, and the extent to which these variables predict the delivery of sex education. A total of 3,695 Infant, Primary, Secondary and High school teachers (66.1% women, 33.9% men) throughout the country completed a voluntary online questionnaire that inquired about their training and attitudes towards sex education, their delivery or non-delivery of this subject in classrooms, and other personal and professional characteristics. Analyses indicate that participants show positive attitudes towards sex education, but that 43.3% are not trained in this issue, and 48.6% do not teach it at school. Some significant differences by sex, educational stage and type of school have been found. In addition, trained teachers show more positive attitudes to sex education. Finally, having more positive attitudes and, to a lesser extent, having prior training, positively predicts the delivery of sex education. These results highlight the importance of reviewing and improving teachers’ training on sexuality and sex education, with particular emphasis on attitudinal contents.